Capture and Release
by Thrwaithiel
Summary: Hidan and Kakuzu are sent to capture a girl. Her care is later turned over to Itachi and Kisame. How will she affect the seemingly emotionless Uchiha? ItachiXOC  M for Language...Hidan
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so start of chapter one. This story was previously on quizilla under the same name. I hope you guys like it. Review for me?

I don't live in a village. My kind would never be able to live in Konoha, or Suna, etc. Not only would we not be accepted, we wouldn't survive. My kind needs special resources to live. Not to mention the odd effect we have on the environment. My name is Maeko. I have no last name. Last names have no meaning here. We are identified by one name, and one name only. This is my story.

Most mornings, I awoke to such noise that only someone who was heavily medicated would be able to sleep through it. Things were different this morning though; I was roused by the lack of noise. Curiously, I slid the covers off and set my feet as quietly as possible on the wooden floor of my bedroom. I tip-toed to the door and opened it, wincing when a floorboard betrayed me by creaking loudly. Everyone of my kind lived in the same house so needless to say, everybody knew everything about everybody else. And it was _never_ quiet. Literally. Not even at night, we have insomniacs just like everyone else. As I crept down the stairs, I was aware of every sound I made.

When I reached the main living room, I was shocked by the sight that met my eyes. Every single person was dead. Everyone that lived here. If I was correct, I was the last one of my kind. What I didn't understand was how everyone was killed. We were immortal. There were only two ways to kill someone of my race. Our soul-mate had to die, or we had to be poisoned with a very special, very rare poison. From what I could see, it looked as though everyone had been poisoned. I had no clue how someone would be able to afford or even find that much of it, but was not sticking around to find out. I raced back to my room as quickly as I was able, but when I got there, I was met with another surprise.

Two men stood in the middle of my room. Both wore matching black cloaks with red clouds. I recognized these cloaks. These men were Akatsuki. One of them wore a mask and had strange green eyes. The other wore his cloak unbuttoned to reveal a well-muscled chest and had pale silver hair that was slicked back and reached his neck. He also had unusual eyes, a strange shade of purple.

"Hey, the girl is finally here! It only took us all damn night to find her!" The purple-eyed one said.

"Hidan, shut up. Grab her and let's go." said the one in the mask.

"Kakuzu, you're no fun. All you care about is getting back to headquarters so you can keep making more money! Lighten up; I could have some real fun with this one!" Hidan told his partner while easily lifting me and running out the door. I was too shocked to do anything but stare with wide eyes.

It took two days to reach wherever their headquarters were. I was blindfolded most of the way, but I had no doubt that I would be able to find it again if I ever left. After we arrived, I was taken to a large and dark room where a man in shadows spoke to my kidnappers. He entrusted me to Hidan's care, telling him to keep me alive, though it shouldn't be too much work, considering I was immortal. After the shadow-man told him that, Hidan seemed to get a wonderful idea. Though I doubt that idea is going to seem wonderful to me. When we left the dark room, Hidan grabbed my wrist and dragged me down a hall. I fell over several times, but that didn't seem to phase him, he just kept dragging me, not caring whether I was standing or on the ground.

When we got to where Hidan was going, we were stopped in front of a steel door. Just before I was dragged in, two men in the same cloaks as Hidan walked past us. The one with blue skin and hair paused and looked between me and Hidan and asked, "That your mission?"

"Yep. We just got back. She's immortal." Hidan grinned, "And we're going to have some fun. Lord Jashin deserves a sacrifice."

"Hm. You're sure leader's gonna be okay with that?" Blue boy said.

"All he told me was to keep her alive."

With that, I was dragged into a bare room. Nothing but cement walls and a steel door. Hidan grinned maliciously and grabbed my arm, quickly producing a small knife and slitting my arm. I gasped when the knife made contact and hit my head on the wall when he threw me back. I saw him lick the blood of the knife and draw a strange circle with a triangle inside of it before I blacked out.

I was ripped back into consciousness as pain blossomed in my stomach. I screamed and thrashed, trying to make it disappear. I opened my eyes, expecting to find the weapon that caused the pain but all I found was my bare stomach with a 12-inch gash straight across the middle. As I looked up, I saw Hidan still smiling, drawing a gash in the same spot on his own stomach. Now, his body was covered in black with white where his bones should be. He was standing in his odd circle, smiling as though he had no cares in the world. I gasped in horror as I realized this must be a jutsu he had developed and that was why he was so happy when he found out I was immortal. He was a sadist! My gasp was cut short because drawing the breath caused the muscles in my stomach to move, stretching the injured part. Instead, what came out was a squeak of pain. The pain in my stomach seemed like a paper-cut at what I felt next. I was stabbed through the heart. Though unfortunately, it would not kill me.

I was forced into this torture every day for three weeks. I was positive that anyone else in this building could hear my cries of pain. Why wouldn't anybody do anything? I was killed at the least once every day, at the most, three. I will give Hidan credit that he is creative in finding so many different ways to kill a person. Each time more painful than the last. I was never given time to heal or even wash the blood off. I could feel everything getting infected. While I wouldn't die from it, it would greatly affect my abilities. I would be useless if I wasn't healed. 

End of One

Reviewing would be AWESOME ;)


	2. Chapter 2

-Elsewhere in Headquarters-

"Leader, she will not be willing to help us if she continues to be tortured by Hidan. I implore you to see reason. Put her under someone else's care. It will be infinitely easier to have her help because she wants to, rather than have to force her."

"Very well, Itachi. I see your point. You will watch her and she will be yours and Kisame's responsibility."

-In the cement room-

I wasn't very hopeful as I heard the footsteps coming closer to the door. Several people (or the same person over and over again?) passed this door every day and not once had they stopped here, why would they now? But it seemed as though this time, luck was finally in my favor. There were three short raps on the door before a man in classic Akatsuki garb with a long black ponytail and startlingly red eyes entered.

"Get out, Hidan." he said in a deep monotone.

"Ha! Shut the f*ck up, Itachi. This is my room. You get out."

Itachi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "She is no longer under your _care, _she's my responsibility now. Leader's orders."

All I could do was wonder if this man who is taking me could be as cruel as the one before me covered in his own blood.

Itachi held his hand out as though to help me get up. I cringed away from the hand and cowered in my corner of the room. I heard him sigh, and then walk over to where I was before picking me up and carrying me out of the room.

As we walked, I held myself as far away as possible from Itachi. Just because he had saved me from Hidan didn't mean he wasn't capable of doing worse. We walked down so many hallways and turns, that I got completely and utterly lost. I knew there was no hope of my ever escaping. When we stopped, I was in the shadow room again. I heard the shadow man and looked to try and find him. It was useless, but I liked knowing where people were.

"Itachi is now your guardian, Maeko. He and Kisame will be watching you. There is no need to fear them. They will not hurt you as Hidan has. I apologize for his barbaric behavior." I listened, and when he finished I nodded. Itachi walked up to me and held out his hand. I took it and followed him out the door and down another unknown hall. This time when we stopped, it was in front of a door labeled 'Kisame'. Itachi knocked and told Kisame to get ready to leave. Then he took my hand again and pulled me along to his door. He grabbed a pack off his bed and offered his hand again. I took it suspiciously and followed him to a large room.

There, Kisame was waiting for us with a pack very similar to Itachi's on his back. Itachi pulled out a long black cloth and came to stand in front of me.

"I have to blindfold you so you won't know the way." He told me; I nodded and let him tie it on. He picked me up and I instinctively flinched away from him. He started running and after a few minutes I could smell the fresh air of outside. I heard both men's footsteps and eventually the rhythm put me to sleep. I was so exhausted. I had barely slept in three weeks; and even when I had fallen asleep, it hadn't been deeply. I was too terrified of Hidan and what he could do to stay asleep for very long.

When I woke up, it was because we had stopped moving and Itachi had set me down and taken off the blindfold. It was dark now, but I didn't know what time we had left; so there was no telling how long I had been asleep. "We have to rest here tonight and then tomorrow we reach where we're going." Itachi informed me and then walked away towards the fire Kisame had started. I stayed where I was next to a tree and curled up watching my two guardians prepare dinner.

When Kisame was finished cooking, Itachi brought over a bowl for me. I took it silently and finished the whole thing before turning my back to them and facing the tree, ready to sleep.

By the time I was awake, we were moving again, and it looked to be about ten o'clock in the morning. I was being carried by Itachi again; and as I continued watching we approached a gate. Itachi set me down when we were about ten yards from the gate. He silently reached into his pack and pulled out a light blue skirt and white shirt and handed them wordlessly to me. I walked to a secluded place in the trees and changed, then walked back to where Itachi and Kisame were waiting; both of them in casual clothes as well. Itachi motioned me forward and I stepped forward, unsure of my self until Kisame also started to walk with me. We walked all the way into the little village and after that, Itachi led me to a hospital. Kisame gave them false information about me while Itachi and I were taken back to a room to wait for a doctor.

Itachi told the doctor when she came in that I had a few infected injuries he wanted her to take a look at and he would be waiting out in the hall for her when she was finished. After he left, she asked me to show her what was infected. I lifted up my shirt and saw for the first time, what Hidan had to done to me. There was a startled gasp, but I couldn't be sure about whether it was me or the doctor. My stomach was grotesque to say the least. You could barely see the long, dark gashes between the dried blood and infection. My entire stomach was dark red and the main parts where my cuts were, was green. The doctor quickly washed her hands and got gloves on so she could start healing me. It took several hours for her to get all of the infection out and clean up three weeks worth of dried blood. After I was bandaged, she went out to the hall to give Itachi the medicine and explain to him how to use it. She had already told me what I needed to do to get better.

Twice a day, I would need my bandages changed and medicine put on them, and once a day I would have to take a pill to improve my health. (I was extremely malnourished.)

After visiting the doctor, Itachi and Kisame took me over to a clothing store. I walked in feeling nervous; I wasn't sure what I was expected to do. Luckily, Itachi brought me straight over to a woman with long blonde hair and a worker's outfit and told her I was to be fitted. The woman brought me to the back of the store to the fitting rooms. She brought out several pieces of cloth and called for an assistant.  
"My name is Naomi, and this is my assistant, Hana." The woman told me. I looked over at her assistant and gasped. I recognized Hana; she was my little sister. Hana pretended not to notice, but when her employer's back was turned she hurriedly told me not to talk to her and then if I could manage it, to meet her at the local ramen shop tonight at 7 o'clock.  
The fitting for my clothes took about three hours. They had all different colors and patterns but I never got a say in what I wanted; Naomi chose what she thought would look best on me. When she was finished, I walked back out to the front of the shop and found Itachi and Kisame. Naomi led them over to the register and they paid for all of my new things.  
By the time we were done, it was 6 o'clock and we were going to need a place to stay.  
Kisame left to get us rooms at an inn and Itachi and I went to get dinner. We ended up going to the ramen shop I was supposed to meet Hana at. We ordered our food and sat at a table waiting for Itachi's teammate to return. When he did, it was nearly time for Hana to be here. I looked at the door frequently and chewed my lip anxiously, trying to figure out how I was supposed to talk to Hana. She walked in before I could figure it out, and searched until her eyes found me and then with a very determined look; walked over to our table, grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the little restaurant.

End of Two :D

Hmmm what's going to happen with her sister?


	3. Chapter 3

I was in such shock, that all I could do was stare at my arm with wide eyes as Hana half-dragged me to a clearing in a group of trees. When we got to the middle of that clearing, she seemed satisfied and nodded to before letting my arm drop.  
"Not very good bodyguards you have." she stated matter-of-factly.  
"They aren't really bodyguards, so much as making sure I don't escape." I said looking back, wondering where they were.  
"Where would you be escaping from?" Hana looked confused now.  
"From Akatsuki. They kidnapped me the day everyone was killed. I thought you had been killed too."  
"No kidding. I thought you had died, so imagine my surprise when you came into the shop looking scared stiff. You were never like that Maeko. What happened?" Hana said, looking at me with nothing but concern.  
"When I was kidnapped, I was put under the _care_ of Hidan; one of the Akatsuki members. He is immortal. One of his preferred jutsus is one where he ingests his victim's blood and then tortures them to death by stabbing himself. He feels their pain and his own. He enjoys it. I went through three weeks of that, Hana. It was worse than hell. It's enough to make anyone scared. Now I'm Itachi and Kisame's responsibility. They don't seem like sadists so far." When I was done explaining, I thought Hana's jaw might be stuck the way it was forever.  
"Why did they kidnap you?" She asked, astonished.  
"Most likely because I'm an elemental weaver and you know we were the most powerful of anyone in our village."  
"Well yeah, but why not me?"  
"Hana! Never talk like that! I would much rather have them taken me than you. You still have a chance at living happily." I grabbed my sister by her arms and hugged her tightly; sobbing for everything we had lost in a short month.  
"Well, why did they bring you to this town at least?" She asked, pulling away from the hug for a minute.  
"Because, I was stuck with Hidan for those three weeks and the wounds weren't able to heal and they got very infected. It's probably affected my abilities as well." Hana looked thoughtful for a moment.  
"Try growing a flower right now, to see if your powers really are impaired from your illness." I looked at the ground and tried to will a flower to grow. I managed to grow a flower but it was not what either of us had been hoping for. What came up was a viscous looking thing with four petals, black at the center and growing crimson towards the edges with what looked like fangs in the middle. What types of plants we could produce depended on our physical and mental health. So did our control over the elements. Hana frowned and inspected the thing I had grown.  
"That looks like a nasty infection. I hope it will go away soon. I know how much you love your flowers." I stared sadly at the poor thing and quietly willed it away, wondering how it had come to this. I had never seen anyone in our village create something so horrifying. I felt tears prick behind my eyes and fought to keep them from coming out. I knew how sick I was now. I'd be amazed if I was ever able to recover my full powers. And I knew that I had been summoned by the leader because of my powers. I was the prodigy in my village. If I did not recover, I had no doubt that I would be disposed of. I may have turned soft in my weeks of torture, but not so soft that I had lost my survival instinct. I knew how hard I would have to fight to get it all back; and I was willing to do it. Hana took my shoulders and forced me to look at her. As I looked up, she spoke, "I know you can do this. I love you, and I know that you have to leave but send me a message sometime to let me know that you're okay." I nodded and a solitary tear slid its way down my cheek. Hana hugged me tightly and walked away.  
Then, it was too much to handle. I wasn't sure what had pushed me over the edge, but something had. At that moment, I was a force to be reckoned with. All the events of the last month caught up with me at that moment and I broke down. But I didn't cry; I unleashed the wind. I sent it all through the city. I sent it in powerful, destructive gusts. And when I still wasn't satisfied, I sent the rain. I sent it pounding down so hard and fast that it started to flood. And then, I froze the rain. I made hail, and I made it tiny bits that came so frequently, you would have wished they were baseball sized. That way, you would have been able to dodge them.  
Once I had finished wreaking havoc on the poor town, I walked out of the clearing to find Itachi and Kisame standing, waiting for me. Kisame looked about ready to kill. All he said was, "You." and pointed his finger menacingly. Itachi had a blank look and started walking. I took that as my cue to follow him and started toward his slowly retreating back. I heard Kisame slowly shuffle along, muttering to himself about stupid rain and stupid hail. Despite myself, I grinned wildly. As I thought about it, I wanted to laugh. I had to bite my lip to stop it from coming out. In the end, once we reached the room we would be staying in, I couldn't hold in laughter and immediately broke into hysterical giggling and gasping. I was rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter for a solid ten minutes. By the time I was done, even Itachi was giving me strange looks. I just grinned at him and went to the bathroom to change my bandages and take my medicine.  
It took me an hour to change all the bandages and apply the medicine and then sift through my bags of clothes to find pajamas. When I finally emerged from the bathroom, Itachi had a book open and was reading on the bed while Kisame was next to him, sound asleep.  
"We thought you might appreciate having your own bed." Itachi told me when he put his book down. I silently thanked him and got under the covers and turned away from the light. Within minutes, I was deeply sleeping.  
Nightmares haunted me all through my sleep. I was only half-conscious of what was going on around me. I did feel the bed moving and it seemed like that was my fault. I could feel my legs thrashing, trying to run away from the illusion that my sub-conscious was creating for only me to view. When I woke up in the morning, I felt anything but rested. Fortunately for me, Itachi knew I would not be able to keep up and carried me while I was blindfolded for our journey back to headquarters.

End of Three

Nightmares? What will happen back at headquarters?


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't fall asleep while we made our journey back to headquarters but I did lose myself in thought. It surprised me when I could no longer feel the steady rhythm of Itachi's footsteps. I looked around, but soon realized the pointlessness of it when I remembered the blindfold. I felt the deep rumble of Itachi's chuckle as he set me down lightly on my feet and removed the blindfold. We were in the main room of the headquarters and he motioned for me to follow him. I walked after him, gazing at the building in which I now lived. Itachi led me past several doors but gave no clue as to where they went. I was beginning to wonder when we would stop when I saw the end of the hallway. Itachi stopped two doors before the end and opened it, letting me in. The room looked as though it was already occupied and the only new piece seemed to be a bed shoved into the room.  
"You will be sharing my room as we have no other rooms available and you are my responsibility." Itachi informed me in a monotone. It seemed that he never spoke with any emotion or inflection.  
"Okay." I said, looking around the room once more. In the far right corner, there was a desk with several books stacked on it and papers strewn about. In the left corner, there was a King-sized bed and about five feet from that bed, there was another one of the same size .Opposite the bed, there was a large dresser with half of the space free from clothes. As I surveyed the room, Itachi had started hanging up my new clothes in the empty half of the dresser. I walked over and started helping him while he explained to me a little bit more about the Akatsuki and their goals. He told me that the door next to the desk led to a full bathroom that he and I would have to share. We got all of my things set up and then he led down the hallway again and into the kitchen where I saw another Akatsuki member attempting to cook something. I wasn't sure what it was he was trying to cook because it was burned beyond recognition. I stifled a laugh as I saw him struggle with his mystery meal.  
"Tobi. What are you attempting to cook?" Itachi asked the man in the orange mask.  
"Tobi is a good boy! The food doesn't like Tobi!" The poor man wailed. I stepped forward and took the frying pan off the burner and dumped its contents into a nearby trash bin. I then went to the fridge and took out vegetables, meat, and noodles to make stir-fry. I brought out a new pan and chopped the veggies and meat before putting the oil in the pan and frying them. I put the noodles in a pot of water to boil. I added seasonings to the stir-fry and then mixed it all together before turning to put it all on one huge plate and bringing it to the table.  
"There." I said, "Dinner's ready. And you can tell what it is." Tobi looked at the food in the middle of the table almost lovingly. He ran to sit and then ate like he hadn't eaten in months. The rest of Akatsuki eventually filed in and started eating my stir-fry. Itachi went to join them and I made my way back to the kitchen so that I could make a second pan, knowing that there wouldn't be nearly enough. When that was finished, I brought it out and started doing dishes. When I was done, I ate some of the leftover vegetable. Itachi walked back in and looked at me curiously.  
"Why aren't you eating the dinner that _you_ made?" He asked me.  
"I don't really like stir-fry." I explained, munching on a carrot.  
"Then why did you make it?" He asked, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.  
"It was the first thing I could think of that didn't take too terribly long to make." I said and hopped off the counter, wiping my hands on a towel and turning to leave the kitchen to get the plates off the dining table.  
"Don't." Itachi said, "Deidara will get those, it's his turn for dishes." I looked at him skeptically,  
"Will he really do them?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Probably not, but that's his problem if Leader yells at him. You shouldn't worry about it."  
"I don't mind it." I said, grabbing all the plates and walking back to the kitchen. Itachi heaved a great sigh and followed me. When I had the sink full of water, he grabbed a dish towel and started drying all the dishes that I washed. "You know, you don't have to help me just because I'm your responsibility." I told him.  
"But if I don't help you, no one will and that honestly isn't fair to you." He said looking at me.  
"Well honestly, I don't think anyone here really cares if something is fair to me. Look at Hidan." I felt Itachi stiffen and looked over at him. He had his head down and he mumbled something quietly that sounded a lot like, "I care if it's fair to you." I looked at him questioningly but he avoided my gaze and continued drying. Half an hour later, we finished and he led me back down the twisting hallways back to his room, although I suppose now it's our room. I went to the bed he had told me was mine and fell into a deep sleep free from nightmares. And for that, I was grateful. I needed a restorative sleep.

It looked to be about mid-morning when I woke up; judging from the way the sunlight was streaming in through the window. I rolled over and saw Itachi writing furiously on some papers at the desk. I yawned, stretched, and sat up. He looked up at me as I got out of bed. I grinned sleepily at him and waved. He almost smiled back and turned back to his papers. I went over to the dresser, and took out an outfit to wear for the day. A simple black tank top and mid-calf length pants. I went to the bathroom and turned on the shower to warm up before I started to un-wrap my bandages. After showering, I got dressed then went into the room to ask Itachi to help me re-bandage my stomach. When I walked out, Deidara was in the room, looking very angry and Tobi was next to him, almost cowering in the corner. Itachi looked to me as I re-entered the room. Suddenly, all focus was on me. I put my head down and walked to the dresser again as I put my clothes away. Tobi ran over and hid behind me. He was there so quickly that I was startled and jumped. I looked back at him with wide eyes, silently asking what he was doing there.

"Dei-kun is mad at Tobi." He explained, and when Deidara started to head towards us, quickly added, "Tobi is a good boy!" before resuming his spot behind my back. I moved as though to protect him should Deidara come closer. I wasn't sure what Tobi had done but I wasn't going to let Deidara kill him.

"Tobi went into Deidara's room this morning and took all of his exploding clay." Itachi explained, once again monotonous. I looked between Tobi and Deidara, wondering what the big deal about that was. Itachi must have guessed what I was thinking because I saw a grin for a fraction of a second. I sighed and rolled my eyes at the two of them. Turning to Itachi, I said,

"I need help applying the medicine and re-doing my bandages." Itachi nodded and motioned for Deidara and Tobi to leave. I sat down and waited for Itachi. When he finished, I stood up and gingerly stretched, making sure everything was as it should be. When I didn't feel any pain, I smiled and looked to Itachi for further instruction. He opened the door and motioned for me to go out first. He led me back down to the kitchen where he proceeded to take out eggs, toast, and a frying pan. He started cooking and I vaguely wondered where he had learned it. We ate breakfast and he took me outside so I could practice training. For the next few weeks, my schedule went much like this. Sometimes I would train with Deidara and Tobi though, whenever Itachi and Kisame were required for a mission. At the end of my fourth week I was told that I would be accompanying Itachi and Kisame on their next mission.

I packed according to what I was told, glad to be getting out. I had healed almost completely during the last weeks and was proud of that fact. The past two weeks, Itachi and Kisame had been absent from headquarters the majority of the time.

The night before we left, I was haunted by terrifying premonitions. I couldn't decipher what they foretold, but I did wake up screaming twice. The second time, Itachi had to shake me hard to get me to stop. For the rest of the night, I barely slept; for fear of nightmares coming back and telling me things I didn't want to know. When morning finally came, I was a nervous wreck and horribly jumpy. Something bad, very bad, was going to happen on this mission and I did not want to know what it was.

I still wasn't trusted to see where headquarters was. As a result, I was blindfolded yet again and carried. When we were far enough away, Itachi put me down and removed the blindfold. After a little while I noticed Kisame staring at me.

"What?" I snapped at him. He seemed taken aback for a moment, I wasn't usually cranky.

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering what was up with you last night." He smirked and said, "I mean; I know it can't have been anything you and Itachi were doing." I stopped abruptly at his innuendo. I whirled around and unleashed a glare that should've fried him on the spot. He merely laughed as he whizzed by me. He quickly came back and stood right behind me. "Why do you seem so offended?" He whispered, cackling in my ear.

"I'm offended by the fact that you think me so easy, or that you would suggest that I'd "hook up" with one of _you_." I told him scathingly. He started to respond before Itachi appeared in front of us and with a single look silenced whatever Kisame had intended to say. I didn't wait for anything else, I jumped up to a tree and continued running from there. I didn't get very far before I was stopped in my tracks. Kisame nearly ran into me because I stopped so suddenly. Itachi stopped as well, giving me a questioning look. Neither of them could see yet what I could feel. "Wraiths," I whispered, "They're coming." Kisame and Itachi exchanged confused looks as my eyes widened in fear.

Wraiths? Whaaa? Yeah, that's right. They're comin' for ya.


	5. Chapter 5

I just realized how pitifully short all of my chapters have been thus far. Please forgive me This chapter was finished because of KijoKuroi who left me a review. Thanks for finding me after I left Quizilla.

"What's a wraith?" Kisame said, giving me an odd look. "And why should we be so afraid?"

I shot him an irritated look before explaining, "Wraith is mostly another word for ghost. Except that wraiths only generally show up right before or after a person's death. Obviously, they look like the person is going to or has already died."

"So, does this mean that we're going to die or something?" He questioned, apparently still confused.

I sighed, barely glancing back to answer him with a, "No, not necessarily," as I tried to figure out from which direction the wraiths were coming and how far away they were. Once I was able to figure out their location, I took off and heard Kisame say, "What's that supposed to mean?" before he and Itachi started following. As I got closer to where the wraiths were, dread started to fill me. I knew where this was. My kind may not be able to live inside the Hidden Villages but we did live near them. We were required to keep the balance between humans and nature. We were a sort of protectors, if you will. I can't imagine how horribly out of balance nature is right now because of my family's death. I only hope that Akatsuki assumed my family was the only one and our powers were a Kekkai Genkai because if they kill our entire race, the world will fall apart and everyone will die.

I skid to a stop in front of the gate, greeted only be eerie silence and the stench of blood. I put a hand on the gate and took a deep breath, attempting to ready myself from whatever lay within. I could sense the wraiths inside, waiting for me to make the first move. One more deep breath and I shoved one of the large wooden doors open and nearly choked. I had thought the smell was bad before but it was infinitely worse inside where the odor of blood mixed with the stench of decomposing corpses. They were scattered everywhere. As far as I could see, bodies were piled everywhere. As I glanced around, I was somewhat satisfied to see that there were also ninja bodies scattered as well. I suppose I may not have been telling the truth before when I said there are _only_ two ways to kill us. We can be decapitated. It makes me extremely glad that Hidan didn't try that method with me. Still, seeing all the headless bodies of my kind is more than a little unsettling; especially considering the massacre of my family so fresh in my mind.

Itachi and Kisame walked up behind me. Kisame let out a low whistle as he surveyed the courtyard. I looked up as Itachi shot him a glare over my head but ignored it as I turned around to face the wraiths. Looking into the face of the wraith standing before me, a sob escaped before I collapsed to the ground on my knees. My head in my hands, I let the cries come, willing to make the reality before me only a dream. Not only had more of my species been slaughtered, whoever had done this had also taken my husband from me. I shivered as ice cold seeped into my shoulder. I grimaced in a painful smile as I saw my husband, trying in vain to comfort me. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came.

"Who's that, your boyfriend?" Kisame drawled, a smirk playing on his features. I shot him a withering glare and answered, "No, actually. He's my husband, you ignorant buffoon." I felt small satisfaction as Kisame gaped at me. My dead husband cracked a smile and pantomimed high-fiving me. I snorted and shook my head. Itachi clearing his throat brought everyone back to the harsh reality around us. I could see the question in his eyes and so I sat down, in the middle of a battlefield; to tell a love story. "He wasn't the first choice to be my husband. My father was searching the perfect match. He had many candidates, but none of them were good enough for him. This one was too tall, that one too skinny, any children from him would be too gangly and unfit for proper work. I loved my father, truly; but he was ruthlessly judgmental in picking out husbands for my sisters and me. Although, I suppose now I am grateful for it." I paused to turn and smile at my husband, smiling encouragingly at me from behind. Even in death, I felt my love for him beat strongly within me. It took hold of my heart and squeezed; the only outward sign the single lonely tear that would travel down my cheek before resting underneath my chin.

I quickly wiped it away before continuing my story, "I didn't approve of anyone because I didn't want to be married. If I got married, I'd be expected to have children. Having children would prevent me from going on any missions. I wasn't ready to give up being a shinobi yet." I felt the soft brush of Kouji's mind as he spoke his thoughts into my head, 'Do you remember the first time we met?' His thought does remind of the first time we met. Shaking my head, I explain the encounter out loud, "When we first met, I hated Kouji. I wanted to gut him on the spot. By that point, I'd had about enough of my father's meddling in my love life. He just wouldn't accept that I wasn't ready for marriage. I wanted to keep living my life. Kouji was perfect in my father's eyes, much to my dismay. Thus, our engagement was announced. The first time I saw him, I actually attacked him. I had been training and I ran at him with a kunai. He was quick, he blocked me and we stood like that for a few minutes. I was trying to kill him just by looking at him and he was just staring at me with that damn smirk on his face." As if on cue, Kouji smirked. I rolled my eyes at him. "Anyway, my father came storming out and lectured me in front of my fiancé about how I was being disrespectful. Eventually Kouji stepped in and stopped my father. He even said he would've done the same thing if he were in my place. I suppose after that I was a goner. He can be damn charming when he wants and he tried very hard to win over my affections before we got married. I never was quite sure why but I'm glad for it. He became my best friend, and in the end marrying him wasn't such a bad thing. It was probably the best thing I ever did." I smiled wistfully at my now dead husband.

I stood up and walked inside the house. I could feel that Itachi and Kisame hadn't followed me but when I turned around, Kouji had. It was at that point that the full force of what had happened hit me, and I lost it. I fell to my knees as great heaving sobs racked my body. I didn't care if the two Akatsuki standing outside could hear me. I lie on my back and let my grief take over. Through the steady stream of tears I could see Kouji, staring at me with a look of such love and sadness that it brought the cries back anew.

End of Five

Thanks for reading, I am sorry that my chapters are so agonizingly short. Hopefully to make up for that, I will be posting new ones much faster than I ever did on Quizilla.


	6. Chapter 6

I apologize for this being as short as it is, but trust me that this was a good place to stop. I will work on the next part for a few days and hopefully have it up soon. Thanks

I was aware that time had passed, although I couldn't tell you how much. With wave after wave of grief hitting my body, it could've been weeks and I wouldn't have known. Neither would I have cared. I was aware of Kouji's presence in the room the entire time. I could feel it, pulsing around me; but not with life. No, instead I felt the aura of death. And it closed in on me from all sides. It suffocated me, and yet I stayed. The longer I stayed, the more I felt despair take hold of me. My head snapped up as I felt another's chakra enter the room. Cold sharingan greeted me and when they took in my current state, they narrowed. His cold stare froze whatever was left inside of me and I rose slowly to my feet. Mechanically I stood and walked out past him, almost brushing his shoulder.

The light breeze carried the stench of rot towards my nostrils once more but this time, I didn't react. I scanned the courtyard one more time, whether to convince myself all of this was real or for some sort of sick confirmation that everyone really was _dead_. My ears suddenly caught the faint cry of a babe. My eyes widened. I ran towards the sound, hoping to God that it had just been my imagination. I threw open the front door to the house which was the source of the noise. I could taste the metallic tang of blood on my tongue as I stepped over the threshold. My hand came up to cover my nose and mouth, there was blood everywhere. It had dried to a dull brown in some spots on the walls and floor. But where it had pooled beneath victims, it still shone a deep crimson. Nimbly weaving my way through the bodies, I reached the back of the house and entered a nursery.

Immediately, memories began to flood my mind. They came at me with such a force that I was sent to my hands and knees again. In a doctor's office, less than a year ago, they began.

_I sat on the exam table. A grin was playing at the corners of my mouth and when I looked up I could see Kouji trying, and failing, to hide his as well. The doctor walked back in with papers and gave us an encouraging smile. "Well," she said, "it's official. You two are-" _

Another memory interrupted the first. I clutched my head, wanting them to stop.

_I was a month and a half away. My belly seemed to be growing bigger every morning that I woke up. Kouji was everything I could've hoped for and more. We were hopelessly in love. With our first child on the way, we were ecstatic. This was the greatest time of our lives._

_A week later and something was going horribly wrong. Kouji was out on a mission and my stomach started hurting. I was confused; the baby shouldn't be here for another five weeks. As excruciating pain radiated through my abdomen I managed to stumble out my front door and down the street. Clutching my stomach, I pounded on our neighbor's door. She opened quickly, peering out to see what the commotion was. I gasped out a "Please" as I collapsed. She hooked her arms underneath my shoulders and pulled me inside. I screamed in agony as another wave hit me. My baby was dying. I could feel it. I started to weep as the knowledge sunk in. I was going to have a miscarriage. _

_Kouji had his arm around me and both of us wept openly. The small box was lowered into the ground. The gravediggers started shoveling the dirt back in and as each mound of earth hit the tiny coffin; I died a little bit more inside. _

As the memories finally stopped, I was able to stand again. I walked to the crib and peered in. The baby inside was near dead. I stared, amazed that the child had managed to survive this long. Blood slowly seeped out of wounds and the infant lay in its own feces and urine. When it looked at me, I did the only thing I could. I put it out of its misery. I couldn't have saved the child, there were far too many wounds and they were beyond infection. It looked like blood poisoning. I walked slowly back to where Itachi and Kisame were. They stood at the gates, waiting for me. I glanced back at the dead behind me. Some wept as they searched for their loved ones; other simply stared at their bodies, forever stripped of their ability to breathe. Pushing down the remainder of my emotions I faced forwards and walked out as Itachi set the compound ablaze with his fire jutsu.

I felt the flames licking at my back but made no move to avoid them. If I caught on fire, who would really care. At this point, it almost seemed fitting that I would die. With a sharp glance back at me from Itachi, I sighed and stepped away from the inferno. I drudged on behind the partners and behind me I could feel Kouji, still following. Part of me wished he would stay but most of me wished he would leave. How had things changed so much? We used to be happy. I mulled over everything silently as we travelled and when we finally stopped after nightfall to make camp, I knew that I wouldn't be sleeping tonight. My dead husband would most assuredly want to talk. Something I was not looking forward to in the least.


	7. Chapter 7

I know it's short. I know it's late. I'm going to try and get this story moving much quicker and finish it up and then I think I'm going to re-write the beginning and maybe combine some chapters to make them longer.

* * *

My feet felt like concrete. I dragged them as we walked. The trees and foliage were nothing but green and brown blurs. I could focus on nothing except the hostile energy behind me. I was making a conscious effort to look at anything but Kouji. This was proving to be increasingly difficult as he tried harder and harder to make his wishes known. I had a hunch that he wanted to yell at me. There may be a bright side to this yet. Just kidding, this cloud has no silver lining. In his current state, Kouji can't really do much of anything. He can follow me all he wants but he won't be able to speak or touch anything. If he's here long enough, he will eventually gain the ability to touch and move things, maybe master speech even. The cost for that though is corruption of his soul. If he tries to stay here that long, I will go seriously medieval on his ass. I remember our old rituals and I will send him to the spirit world if I have to. It'd be so much easier if I didn't have to do that, but the only way he will go on willingly is if I talk to him.

Itachi and Kisame stopped at some clearing of trees that much like every other clearing that we had seen today. None of it left any impact on me. I had been lost in my own thoughts all day and remembered little of the journey. While the two Akatsuki members set up camp, I found Kouji's eyes and nodded to him before walking out the direction we had just come from. Kisame started to protest when he looked up and saw me leaving but after receiving glares from both myself and the elder Uchiha, he merely frowned and went back to building a fire. I walked far enough that I didn't think Itachi and Kisame would hear but stayed within sight of the fire. I sat and waited expectantly for Kouji to do something. But all he did was stare at me. It didn't take long until I cracked under his gaze. I broke eye contact and looked at my feet. The air shifted as Kouji moved and my shoulder felt cold as his hand passed through it. His eyes were full of pain and I'm sure that mine mirrored his as the realization struck that Kouji really was gone. We had been through so much and now, now Kouji was gone.

I felt the water build up behind my eyelids but knew that I couldn't let it out. I gathered up my resolve and steeled myself to meet my dead husband's gaze once again. As he looked in my eyes, a jolt seemed to go through him and he opened his mouth. I frowned, what was he trying to do? And then, my mouth fell open in shock as Kouji spoke.

"My love, my heart, what are you doing?" He asked me, with that same smile on his face I had seen every time he came home. I choked on a sob that managed to make its way past my throat. Kouji looked at me with remorse and almost pity in his eyes. "I can see what's going through your mind. Don't remember our child. That wasn't your fault. None of this was. I may be gone from your world but you will be okay. That much I can promise you," I opened my mouth to respond but he held up a hand, signaling he wasn't done. I closed my mouth and tasted the hot saltiness of my own tears. I touched my cheek in surprise. They had escaped and were now freely flowing down my face. "Do not despair just yet," Kouji continued, "for I see in your future your chance to be truly blissful. I never told you but you were my true mate. I was bonded to you alone. I knew then and know now that I was not your true mate. I knew there was another who would eventually take you from me. I see now who he is. I cannot tell you but know that you need only open your heart to him and accept what he tells you, and you shall both be happy. Something that neither one of thinks is possible. I have to go, but you know that. Do not mourn me too long, my sweet, or you will miss your chance. Goodbye." As Kouji left, I fell to my knees, trying to process everything he had told me. While it was true he was not my true mate, I had thought we would both find others eventually. We had gotten married to appease my father. It's true we did fall in love but I had been certain we would both fall out of love when our true mates came into our lives. Now I see that had never been part of Kouji's plan.

I whispered goodbye to him one last time before I returned to the campsite. And to my captors.

* * *

End for now. Thank you to those who have been patient so far. I will try to get my butt in gear. Review?


End file.
